Texas anti-abortion group Life Dynamics, whose founder Mark Crutcher was an important mentor to undercover Planned Parenthood activist David Daleiden, plans to start training “a whole army” of Daleidens in the arts of spying on abortion providers. Crutcher joined Cleveland Right to Life’s Molly Smith on her “From the Median” radio program earlier this month to discuss his plans to “create intelligence gathering agents” to infiltrate abortion providers, with the goal of having 100 such agents by the end of the year and eventually one for every abortion clinic in the country…. “Right now the abortion industry only has to worry about basically two organizations infiltrating them,” Crutcher said, “and that’s Life Dynamics — us — and Lila Rose with Live Action.” (Crutcher, who pioneered the technique of sham undercover “investigations” of abortion providers, also trained Rose.)…. “We know for a fact that we can put 100 trained people around the country by the end of this year,” he said, “and our eventual goal is to make sure there’s not an abortion clinic in this country that doesn’t have intelligence operatives surveilling it on a daily basis.”
I’ve often pondered what it is about radical Christian anti-abortion zealots that affords them the belief that they have some sort of Divine blessing to counter what they believe to be immoral behavior with that which is blatantly illegal. It’s as if they’re so convinced of their own moral superiority and the unassailable, unquestionable correctness of their morality that they’ve no problem believing the end more than justifies whatever means may be required.
Crutcher’s argument rings hollow, just as those who argued that the murder of Dr. George Tiller was somehow less heinous than the crimes they accused him of. The fact that what Dr. Tiller was doing was legal seems to have escaped the self-appointed judge/jury/executioners, and the visitation of judgment upon him was merely Divine punishment they view as the wages of his sins.
I’m a smart guy, but I’m not an attorney, so I can only speculate about the number of laws Crutcher and his minions might be proposing to break…on the local, state, AND federal levels. Somehow that prospect is no deterrent when it comes to protecting the unborn, which Crutcher evidently believes to be his prime directive. If it takes bending or breaking a few laws…well, as Khrushchev once said, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. And what are the laws of man when it comes to serving (your own twisted version of) God’s law?
Crutcher asserted that this 24/7 spying on every single abortion provider would easily turn up useful information because “I guarantee you, Molly, there’s not an abortion clinic in this country that’s not engaged in at least a few illegal activities, not one.”
“They go to bed every night knowing things that if we knew would destroy them,” he said.
Crutcher’s overheated imagination aside, I suspect most women’s health providers, especially those including abortion among the services they provide, are fully aware of the scrutiny they face. They’re probably also all too aware that a goodly number of those focusing their attentions on them are seriously unbalanced zealots whose grip on reason and devotion to the rule of law is tenuous at best.
The idea that Crutcher can “guarantee” that abortion providers aren’t “engaged in at least a few illegal activities” smacks of someone WAY too convinced of his own importance. When you live in a place where you’ve elevated yourself to a higher moral plane, thus granting you a Divine free pass to take whatever measures you deem necessary to “right” a perceived “wrong,” you have serious issues. Not only are you deeply in need of professional help, you’re also in danger of running afoul of the law.
Of course, I suspect Crutcher believes the rule of law to be for other, lesser mortal, as he’s governed only by God’s law, which most likely and very conveniently dovetails with his prejudices. His moral universe is a vacuum which allows zealots like him to believe that any action, perhaps even up to and including murder, are justified to stop those who would violate (his version of) God’s law. It’s no stretch to say that this overheated sense of self-importance makes Crutcher particularly dangerous. He clearly seems to view himself as being above the law, as if he’s some self-appointed Defender of the Faith.
When it comes to breaking laws, I’d submit that Crutcher would do well to take a good, long look in the mirror…but zealots aren’t renowned for for possessing high degrees of self-awareness or compassion. Personally, I can’t help but feel sorry for whoever it is that wakes up next to Crutcher every morning. That’s a job I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
